Football: Beckham’s Galaxy Too Powerful For Oceania All Stars

AUCKLAND : David Beckham led his LA Galaxy team to a 3-0 win over an Oceania All Stars XI in Auckland on Saturday as he chalked up valuable time on the pitch before joining AC Milan on loan in January.

Beckham, who played all but the final 10 minutes of the exhibition match at Mt Smart Stadium, kept the regional invitation side on the defensive with his superior levels of skill.

The Galaxy, in their first match in more than a month, led 3-0 at halftime, and although they were unable to add to their score in the second half they seldom looked in danger of conceding a goal.

Although Beckham’s pulling power was not as strong as when he last brought the Galaxy to New Zealand — attracting a crowd of 16,000 compared with 31,000 last year — he delighted the fans every time he touched the ball.

One early strike in the second minute forced former Aston Villa and Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich into a fine reflex save.

But the Galaxy took the lead a minute later when former Dortmund striker Jovan Kirovski struck from just outside the box.

A sweeping move from one end of the field to the other 10 minutes later saw Alan Gordon head home to put the Galaxy side 2-0 up.

Midfielder Brandon McDonald completed the scoring in the 30th minute when he was left unmarked at the far post to nod in.

The second half was a more scrappy affair, culminating in the sending off of Galaxy midfielder Josh Tudela after 71 minutes for a second yellow card.

Football: Beckham’s Galaxy Too Powerful For Oceania All Stars

AUCKLAND : David Beckham led his LA Galaxy team to a 3-0 win over an Oceania All Stars XI in Auckland on Saturday as he chalked up valuable time on the pitch before joining AC Milan on loan in January.

Beckham, who played all but the final 10 minutes of the exhibition match at Mt Smart Stadium, kept the regional invitation side on the defensive with his superior levels of skill.

The Galaxy, in their first match in more than a month, led 3-0 at halftime, and although they were unable to add to their score in the second half they seldom looked in danger of conceding a goal.

Although Beckham’s pulling power was not as strong as when he last brought the Galaxy to New Zealand — attracting a crowd of 16,000 compared with 31,000 last year — he delighted the fans every time he touched the ball.

One early strike in the second minute forced former Aston Villa and Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich into a fine reflex save.

But the Galaxy took the lead a minute later when former Dortmund striker Jovan Kirovski struck from just outside the box.

A sweeping move from one end of the field to the other 10 minutes later saw Alan Gordon head home to put the Galaxy side 2-0 up.

Midfielder Brandon McDonald completed the scoring in the 30th minute when he was left unmarked at the far post to nod in.

The second half was a more scrappy affair, culminating in the sending off of Galaxy midfielder Josh Tudela after 71 minutes for a second yellow card.